Tackling sexual harassment in a blog that focuses on inspiring kids to become scientists and engineers might seem incongruous, but as I listen to salacious stories rolling out from the Nation’s Capital and the Big Apple to Hollywood and Silicon Valley, a song from Rogers and Hammerstein’s 1949 Broadway blockbuster South Pacific keeps repeating in my ear:

You’ve got to be taught

From year to year,

It’s got to be drummed

In your dear little ear

You’ve got to be carefully taught.

As a Boomer, I grew up believing that a level playing field was all we needed for women to succeed in their chosen fields. The #MeToo movement has radically changed my thinking, so I am adding my voice to the chorus of millennial women who say there needs to be a fundamental cultural shift in the American Workplace.

I take scouting seriously: my family recited the Boy Scout Law at my father’s funeral as my brother, an Eagle Scout, wept.

Last week, I started a blog about how programs like scouting and the Broadcom MASTERS® create modern-day rites of passage through which young people can find their place in a society that amplifies the positive values and aspirational interests that enables them to become adults in-full and leaders in science, engineering, letters and the arts as well as society at large.

The National Boy Scout Jamboree has been a scouting rite of passage for decades; one that all scouts are encouraged to experience as they go from Tenderfoot to the “apex of leadership and character.” Thus, I was extremely gratified by the Boy Scouts of America CEO’s public disavowal of President Trump’s address at the National Jamboree when, rather than giving guidance and inspiration from […]

Marking the dawn for yet another superhero revival, Wonder Woman, is enjoying a much-anticipated reprise at movie theaters everywhere — the popular comic heroine finally displays her superpower strength on the big screen.

An idol to young women everywhere, Wonder Woman demonstrates power and ability in both body and mind — she is able to solve problems using what we now call ‘21st century skills’ — problem solving, communication, collaboration and creativity.

This spring, my friend sent me a photo of the Jefferson Memorial, which we visited long before the ascension of Donald Trump and his Republican Congress. The image triggered this thought: were he here today, Thomas Jefferson – scientist, engineer, inventor, botanist, author of the Declaration of Independence, third president of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia (the first to open a school of engineering and applied sciences,) would be leading the March for Science on April 22.

Throngs of scientists and science-minded citizens like me are marching in resistance to the president’s draconian appointments and policies that disavow established science, quell critical thinking, abrogate fact-based knowledge and threaten to roll back advancements in scientific research and education.

Thomas Jefferson would not be pleased; and his immortal words, engraved on the porticos of his memorial, sum up the […]

Today – March 14th – marks International Pi Day – Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159…. and so on. Pi has been calculated to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point!

International Pi Day is a great time celebrate math and celebrate those who strive to introduce computer coding to all. Not just because we think coding is fun (and it is once you get the hang of it,) but because there are over 2.4 million STEM jobs waiting to be filled by young and old alike.

“If more students and workers aren’t inspired to stick with STEM and coding, we will not have the millions of new workers needed [to make] our connected world […]

Opportunity is knocking for the next champion of the world’s longest-running, largest, most prestigious and most inclusive high school STEM competition to step forward: the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is up for grabs.

Deftly guided by the Society for Science and the Public for seventy years, science fair systems sponsored respectively by industry giants of their era – Westinghouse (from 1942 to 1997) and Intel (from 1998- the present) – are at the epicenter of virtually every state, national and international STEM education movement. Their renowned competitions, Science Talent Search, International Science and Engineering Fair and Broadcom MASTERS help drive our urgent imperative to educate disciplined, audacious STEM-literate adults at all levels of society who will fill millions upon millions of 21st century jobs that require flexible competencies in math, science and engineering.

The “132005 Scottmcgregor” is not a large asteroid (it clocks in at about 2 to5 km in diameter), but it is big enough to cause similar damage as the one that is theorized to have killed off the dinosaurs about 65.5 million years ago.

At a post-mortem forum on the 2016 U.S. election, Mexico’s former president Vicente Fox had choice words for those who elected Donald Trump. Yearning for the manufacturing glory days of yesteryear, American workers were seduced by a sloganeer who promised to “Make America Great Again.” But, said Fox, the world has moved on, and their jobs with it. Instead of attending community colleges to pick up critical skills and proficiencies that would have enabled them to transition into jobs of the future, American workers “went home to down a few beers.”
A sardonic critique from a politician on the other side of Trump’s ‘great wall’ designed to keep jobs in and émigrés out? Not so.

Donald Trump perpetuated the destructive myth about our nation’s infallibility held by many in Middle America, especially workers in Coal Country and the Rust Belt whose family fortunes rose in the 1950’s when the United States dominated manufacturing and production […]

Chronicling the first 75 years of the Digital Revolution, Innovators author Walter Isaacson wrote, “it is teamwork, not rugged individualism that ignites groundbreaking innovation in science and technology.”

The Broadcom MASTERS®, the premier national middle school competition organized by Society for Science & the Public, is a direct descendent of the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, which was founded toward the end of World War II when Isaacson’s story begins. The Westinghouse Science Talent Search was created in 1942 to nurture and elevate a generation of science and engineering innovators. Baby Boomers like me remember running in from backyard play on Friday evening to catch the official announcement of the science talent search winner on our black and white television.

When it was founded in 1942, STS competition awarded a prize to the “Top […]

Perpetual curiosity and a passion for animals has propelled River Grace, 17 of Melbourne, Florida from winning the Samueli Prize at the Broadcom MASTERS in 2013 to his 1st place finish at the 2016 European Union (EU) Contest for Young Scientists last month. One of only 3 Americans invited to compete, Grace brought home a big win for the United States for his investigations of the brahminy blindsnake’s central nervous system.

“I was both astounded and deeply grateful to have been selected for the honor of 1st place, and delighted to represent my nation and meet other young scientists who had a passion for knowledge, just like me – actually this reminded me a lot of the Broadcom MASTERS!” Grace said.

Grace’s investigation uncovered that the blindsnake has functional eyes (no one […]

“Just think, your grandchildren are going to grow up knowing a black man and a woman as their presidents,” mused my daughter as we celebrated my grandson’s fifth birthday in a public park on a beautiful fall day, anywhere in America.

Her words gave me pause as I prepare to make one last case for the importance of a STEM literacy movement in the United States during the 2016 election cycle. My image of President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on West Front of the Capitol next January stands in sharp relief to the yawning chasm of STEM literacy and workforce preparedness between children of privilege and underserved youth, young men and women, and children whose parents have deep roots in this country and those who perilously crossed oceans and borders to realize the American Dream.

On May 29, the University of California, Irvine (UCI) recognized student innovation and lauded STEM education trailblazer, Paula Golden, President of Broadcom Foundation, at Ingenuity 2016, held by the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences and the Henry Samueli School of Engineering. Watch the video here.

These renowned programs, among others that include Stem Ecosystem Initiatives, fulfill the mission of the Broadcom Foundation: to create opportunity and promote equitable access to STEM education for the […]

Paula Golden, President and Executive Director, Broadcom Foundation and Director, Community Affairs, Broadcom Corporation, asked six Broadcom MASTERS alumni from 2011-2014 to reflect on their experiences with the 2015 class. Each of the six had remarkably gone on to distinguish themselves as competitors and winners in other STEM competitions, internships at Stanford and the NASA Ames Research Center and share their STEM passions with elected officials at all levels, including President Barack Obama.

Overwhelmingly, they agreed that Broadcom MASTERS changed their lives.

“Broadcom MASTERS cemented my love of science. Everyone there encouraged me to stay in the field,” said Holly Jackson, 2014 Samueli Foundation prize winner. “When I came back to school, I got to share my experience with teachers and students, which was very touching for […]

At only 12 years old, middle schooler Maria Elena Grimmett from Jupiter, Fla., became a 2011 Broadcom MASTERS finalist, later winning the Mathematics Prize at the 2012 Broadcom MASTERS.

Fast-forward to today: Grimmett continued to research her passion for curbing water pollution (mostly from her family’s dining room table) to identify a new water purification method. Her efforts culminated in a $100,000 scholarship prize from the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, the nation’s premier research competition for high school students. Read more about Grimmett’s award here.

“I was shaking on the stage,” Grimmett, now 17, said of her win. “It’s the most amazing feeling in the world, especially when I was put up against the other finalists. It is such an honor and has been an amazing journey.”

In rapid response to the devastating floods in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu, India, Broadcom employees teamed up with Stop Hunger Now to package some 30,000 meals in just two hours, meals that will provide much needed relief to more than affected 5,000 families in the stricken region.

“We thank the Broadcom team for their immediate response to the flooding that has prevented several thousand families from going back to their homes and starting normal lives again,” said Dola Mohapatra, Director of Stop Hunger Now in India. “With Broadcom’s support, we opened the first Stop Hunger Now facility in India early […]

Many try to define what it takes to be a leader – a recent Inc. Magazine article listed confidence, decisiveness and honesty as key traits. But, how are these qualities nurtured in young people?

Some may say becoming a leader starts with formative experience– such as the Broadcom MASTERS program.

Last month, 30 middle school finalists were chosen from all over the country and flown to Silicon Valley for a rigorous, weeklong competition that tested their mastery of STEM principles and team leadership. With challenging competitions each day coupled with team building activities throughout the week, the finalists quickly got to know each other and how to work together.

Unbeknownst to the finalists they were asked to elect a “class speaker” at the end of the competition. They were asked to elect one of their peers who demonstrated leadership qualities throughout the week. Avery Clowes, 13, from Bolton Mass. was elected […]

“May the force be with you” is the renowned salute intoned in the 20th century by a Jedi Master on May 25, 1977, when George Lucas first gathered us into his mythological realm in the Galaxy Far-Far-Away. For Star Wars fans all over the world, the phrase has special meanings – and it has personal significance for me as I push “send” to buy advanced tickets to take my grandson to see Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, which debuts in the 21st century this winter.

As a former educator-turned-STEM philanthropist for the Broadcom Foundation, I have long wished to join the conversation about supporting art alongside science, technology, engineering, and math education. In my mind, Star Wars Episode VII provides the perfect catalyst for math, science and art teachers to pull out a copy of […]

‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ is the question most often posed to teenagers.

Scott McGregor, President and CEO of Broadcom, speaks with a group of Broadcom MASTERS finalists.

At a gathering with STEM professionals from academia to industry, this year’s 30 Broadcom MASTERS finalists took a front row seat to their futures. The Broadcom MASTERS students explored potential career choices, mined for inspiration and took home some valuable lessons from seven panelists.

The panelists, who hailed from positions like CEO, CTO and professor, had something in common with the finalists – they have all participated in a science competition of Society for Science & the Public (SSP). Along with the soon-to-be Broadcom MASTERS alum, that’s a lot of STEM brainpower in one room!

What if you could open the front door through a sensor in your hand? And when guests come to the door, their photo is sent from the doorstep to your phone so you can identify them? These are the kinds of “Internet of Things” (IoT) technologies that students from under-served communities conceived, designed, built and then socialized in a summer program called ASPIRE/INSPIRE, sponsored by Broadcom Foundation.

ASPIRE/INSPIRE (Aspire to Dream, Inspire to Motivate) seeks high-achieving community college and high school students from underserved communities in southern California who demonstrate a passion for engineering and computer science.

That’s one of the lessons learned by this year’s Broadcom MASTERS® Grand Prize winner: Annie Ostojic, 13, of Munster, Ind., among other important discoveries she’s acquired through an exploration of physics, food science and materials engineering.